The DOJ is launching a criminal probe into trades Deutsche Bank made for Russian clients

Russian artist Vasily Slonov attaches a banknote as he creates an artwork depicting a portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin based on a layer of U.S. dollars, Russian and Soviet roubles at his workshop in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, November 13, 2014. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin (Reuters) - The United States Department of Justice is investigating trades worth billions of dollars that Germany's Deutsche Bank AG made on behalf of its Russian clients, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The probe investigates so-called mirror trades, where the bank's Russian clients bought stocks in rubles, and through simultaneous transactions in London, bought the same stocks in U.S. dollars, thereby moving funds out of Russia without informing authorities, Bloomberg reported.

Last month, The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) sought detailed information from Deutsche Bank on possible money-laundering transactions by some of its clients in Russia that could exceed $6 billion in total, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Deutsche Bank declined to comment on this development and referred to its earlier statement published on the issue along with its annual report on July 30.